The 21st Century CURES Act will be providing $485 million nationwide to fight the opioid crisis, and Ohio will receive $26 million of that total amount. The money comes through grants administered by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

The Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services has said that it will use the funding to focus on certain areas, including medication-assisted treatment, prevention, recovery supports, workforce development, and trauma among first responders. The department will take a three-pronged approach in its application: statewide activities are planned, emphasis will be placed on counties with the highest rates of overdose deaths and greatest treatment needs, and local projects will be identified by local Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) boards.

While only about half of Ohio’s counties will receive targeted funding, some of the money will be used on statewide programs.

The $26 million awarded is the first of two years of funding under the law. Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Dr. Tom Price said in a recent letter to governors that he intends to develop a new way to allocate the second year of funding.